Endoluminal prostheses, such as stents and stent grafts, are used for treating damaged or diseased body lumens such as the esophagus, bile duct, and blood vessels. For example, endoluminal prostheses may be used for repairing the diseased aorta including abdominal aortic aneurysms, thoracic aortic aneurysms, and aortic arch aneurysms. The prosthesis is placed inside the body lumen and provides some or all of the functionality of the original, healthy vessel.
Endovascular aortic repair for patients with diseases (e.g. aneurysms, dissection, etc.) in the vicinity of the aortic arch is particularly challenging because the endovascular/endoluminal device, for example, a stent-graft, must be able to effectively seal off the diseased portion of the aortic arch and still allow blood flow to the branch vessels, for example, the left carotid artery, the brachiocephalic artery, and the left subclavian artery.
Access to the branch vessels is typically achieved by introducing fenestrations (apertures) in the endovascular device at locations corresponding to the location of the branch vessels, as shown in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,144,421 and 6,524,335, the entirety of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Due to the complexity and variation amongst patients in the location of the branch vessel/aortic arch intersections, it is typically necessary to make a custom stent-graft for each individual patient. Generally, this is done by capturing the geometric data of the patient's anatomy through electromagnetic imaging (e.g. CT scans, MRI, etc.) or the like, and then manufacturing a custom, one-off stent that matches the patient's anatomy. However, this process is not cost effective and results in a long lead time. In some cases, lead time may be too long to successfully treat the patient.